CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? The final launch of the space shuttle
Discovery has been delayed another 24 hours ? to Nov. 3 ? to allow engineers more time to address troublesome leaks that were found on the orbiter late
Thursday (Oct. 28).

Engineers have been scrambling to fix leaky
helium and nitrogen seals in one of Discovery's twin aft-mounted engine
pods. The leaks are in seals used to pressurize fuel line plumbing in one of
the shuttle's orbital maneuvering system pods.

NASA managers met this morning and made the decision to
delay the shuttle's launch, after it was deemed impossible to meet Tuesday's
window. The Nov. 3 liftoff is now targeted for 3:52 p.m. EDT (1952 GMT).

Technicians here at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral,
Fla. worked overnight to complete repairs, and made good progress, but are
slightly behind the timeline that was prepared yesterday, NASA test director
Jeff Spaulding told reporters in a status briefing this morning (Oct. 30).

"As we went through the day yesterday, we found that
there were additional things we needed to do," Spaulding said. "There
was quite a bit more work we needed to do from a leak check perspective. As a
result of that, we're a bit down on our timelines."

The necessary repairs and replacements have been made to the
faulty seals, but shuttle technicians will need to work throughout the day and
night to re-pressurize Discovery's orbital maneuvering system rocket engine.

Discovery has until Sunday, Nov. 7, to launch in the current
window, Spaulding said, which "gives us five days of attempts to get off
the ground."

The weather forecast for Wednesday's launch currently calls
for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions, according to Kathy Winters,
NASA's shuttle weather officer. The main concerns are low clouds and isolated
showers in the area that could prevent liftoff. [Video:
Legacy of Shuttle Discovery]

On its 11-day mission, Discovery will haul critical spare
parts to the space station, including a storage room and a humanoid
robot to assist the crew of the orbiting laboratory.

Discovery's
final flight will be NASA's 133rd shuttle mission, before the space agency
brings its 30-year space shuttle program to a close in 2011.

NASA will retire the three remaining shuttles in its fleet ?
Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour ? next year to make way for a new plan aimed
at sending astronauts to visit an asteroid and Mars. Discovery is the oldest of
NASA's space shuttles.

President Obama recently signed a major NASA act that turns
his vision for U.S. space exploration into law. The NASA
authorization act scraps the space agency's previous moon-oriented goal and
paves the way for a manned mission to an asteroid by 2025. A manned mission to
Mars is envisioned for some time in the 2030s.

The bill also calls for a budget of $19 billion for NASA in
2011, adding one extra space shuttle flight before the fleet retires next year,
and the extension of the International Space Station through at least 2020.